scald

The definition of a scald is an injury caused by burning with hot steam or liquid.

An example of a scald is a wound from the steam of a tea kettle.

verb

Scald is defined as to burn with hot steam or liquid, to heat liquid almost to the point of boiling, or to harshly criticize.

An example of scald is to pour boiling water on your hand.

Contact with this steam would scald you.

scald

transitive verb

to burn or injure with hot liquid or steam

to heat almost to the boiling point

to use boiling liquid on; specif.,

to sterilize by the use of boiling liquid

to loosen the skin of (fruit, etc.), the feathers of (poultry), or the like, by the use of boiling water

Origin of scald

Middle English scalden ; from Norman French escalder, for Old French eschalder ; from Late Latin excaldare, to wash in warm water ; from Classical Latin ex-, intensive + calidus, hot, akin to calere, to be warm: see calorie

A war song such as was of yore chanted on the field of battle by the scalds of the yet heathen Saxons. â€” Sir Walter Scott.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Websterâ€™s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Words near scald in the dictionary

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Self-help books are making life downright unsafe. Women desperate to catch a man practice all the ploys recommended by these authors. Bump into him, trip over him, knock him down, spill something on him, scald him, but meet him. Florence King